Story by DinaRella / Photos sourced from NBC Universal MV DVD screenshots, Wikipedia, Flickr, imdb, nplan & americanbutler
Part Three
Free from a welcome sign or entrance gates, a mile past the Cape Florida Lighthouse, at the edge of Miami where Biscayne Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, piercing through the neon turquoise waters, six remaining Stiltsville silhouettes sit perched like long-legged birds on the seagrass flats.
Back in the ‘80s, Miami Vice put the pastel-cluster on the map for non-boaters. Remember season 2 episode 3: “Out Where the Buses Don’t Run?” The high-speed chase and shootout in the pink house was pure Miami Vice gold!
Considered to be the single best episode, it made the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time” in the 1997 TV Guide list. Not only blessed to have Bruce McGill and David Strathairn as guest stars, the soundtrack of classic rock anthems was unforgettable. During Little Richard’s Ocean Drive preaching cameo, the Who’s massive banger “Baba O’Riley” opened the show and the profound ending was constructed entirely around Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms.”
But, did you know the floating community had been around since the Prohibition era, and only grew wilder with time over its 100-year history! If the walls could speak, what might they say? We wrap up our Miami Vice 40-year tribute digging up those details washed away with the wind and waves.
1- A 12-shack enclave appearing out of nowhere popped up in 1922 is the story historians tell. The next decade, fishermen started running their barges aground on the shallow flats. Eddie “Crayfish” Walker was the first high-spirited fella to make his presence known. In 1932, he converted his barge to a tackle shop selling bait, beer and tasty chowder. However, urban legends claim it was a front for his rowdy gambling den brimming with bootlegged rum by night.
2- Stiltsville's "get lit” reputation continued through the Prohibition era. Rum-runners made it their stopping-point joint. The perfect setting for a social club sans police control, the invite-only Calvert Club would be the first to open its wooden doors.
3- The Quarterdeck gentleman’s club sprouted up next. It was so popular, local papers would publish photos of high society engaging in their wild offshore vices. The sinful shacks as people called them were seen as a remedy to escape mainland monotony and/or flee from the big-city hustle. Life magazine even did an article on it.
4- The good times kept on rolling. In the early ‘50s, a group of blue-collar men re-floated a sunken barge they acquired for $1.00 and started the Miami Springs Power Boat Club. To this day, the retreat is one of the best preserved. After the Vietnam War, the club was known to welcome disabled veterans for afternoons of fun and fishing. Boy Scout groups still frequently visit.
5- During its heyday in the 1960s, a total of 27 shacks crowded the sandy bay. At the Bikini Club, bar seats were occupied by playboys, politicians and prominent characters, and free drinks flowed for the females flaunting it all in two piece swimwear. Soon after being raided for lacking a liquor license, its first demise came from Hurricane Betsy, Rebuilt to less fanfare, its final and quite literal downfall was the result of a fire and second hurricane.
6- In 1985, the bottom land underneath the remaining homes was incorporated into the Biscayne National Park. When the leases expired, the plan was to remove the remaining houses. Filled with a past as colorful as its facades, a long fight ensued. Residents rallied to Save Old Stiltsville (SOS) and preserve the pastel paradise as a historical landmark.
7- The one unwelcome guest and biggest reveler of all that just won't go away has been Mother Nature. Leaving the fairytale-like village defenseless, over the last century hurricanes and fires have destroyed 21 of the water-enriched wooden houses washing their tales of debauchery away. When Andrew’s Category 5 wrath blew through in August of 1992, it dropped the count to seven. And three years back in 2021, a horrific fire took down the LeShaw House. Currently, six shacks remain to carry on the legacy!
8- A non-profit called Stiltsville Trust was established in 2003 to protect and rehabilitate the remaining structures and support educational services showcasing its richness. It even served as inspiration for the downtown waterfront’s Perez Art Museum designed by world class architects Herzog & Meuron.
9- If by richness they mean noir nostalgia and entertainment action, the bungalows also appeared in "Bad Boys II", as well as, made cameos in Grand Theft Auto Vice City and PSP Miami Vice video games.
10- Looking to visit? Today, various historic boat tours make trips out to Stiltsville. Option two is to do a Florida Powerboat Club Poker Run down to the Keys… you’ll blast past it, faster than Crockett and Tubbs!
‘Tis the season of boat shows is upon us, coming next, we move up one county from Dade to Broward for the 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show aka FLIBS. First and foremost, on RDP radar, will be Nor-Tech’s 4000 Roadster Supercat sporting quad Mercury Racing 500-hp outboard engines.
And from its phenomenal display of center console inventory on hand, standouts we’re psyched to check out include Axopar’s first-ever 29 CCX; Formula’s CCF 457 (big sister to its 387 model); the Deep Impact 499 Sport; and the latest rendition of the Mystic 5200 with its new interior layout.
Return to Part One on the 38 Scarab KVs
https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/articles/do-you-really-know-your-“miami-vice-tv-show”-38-scarab-kvs.1220/
Return to Part Two about Glass Dave's painting tales.
https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/articles/painting-the-38-scarab-“miami-vice-edition”-restos-how-many-colors-and-guns-did-glass-dave-use.1221/
Part Three
Free from a welcome sign or entrance gates, a mile past the Cape Florida Lighthouse, at the edge of Miami where Biscayne Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, piercing through the neon turquoise waters, six remaining Stiltsville silhouettes sit perched like long-legged birds on the seagrass flats.
Back in the ‘80s, Miami Vice put the pastel-cluster on the map for non-boaters. Remember season 2 episode 3: “Out Where the Buses Don’t Run?” The high-speed chase and shootout in the pink house was pure Miami Vice gold!
Considered to be the single best episode, it made the “100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time” in the 1997 TV Guide list. Not only blessed to have Bruce McGill and David Strathairn as guest stars, the soundtrack of classic rock anthems was unforgettable. During Little Richard’s Ocean Drive preaching cameo, the Who’s massive banger “Baba O’Riley” opened the show and the profound ending was constructed entirely around Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms.”
But, did you know the floating community had been around since the Prohibition era, and only grew wilder with time over its 100-year history! If the walls could speak, what might they say? We wrap up our Miami Vice 40-year tribute digging up those details washed away with the wind and waves.
Heyday Hideaway
1- A 12-shack enclave appearing out of nowhere popped up in 1922 is the story historians tell. The next decade, fishermen started running their barges aground on the shallow flats. Eddie “Crayfish” Walker was the first high-spirited fella to make his presence known. In 1932, he converted his barge to a tackle shop selling bait, beer and tasty chowder. However, urban legends claim it was a front for his rowdy gambling den brimming with bootlegged rum by night.
2- Stiltsville's "get lit” reputation continued through the Prohibition era. Rum-runners made it their stopping-point joint. The perfect setting for a social club sans police control, the invite-only Calvert Club would be the first to open its wooden doors.
3- The Quarterdeck gentleman’s club sprouted up next. It was so popular, local papers would publish photos of high society engaging in their wild offshore vices. The sinful shacks as people called them were seen as a remedy to escape mainland monotony and/or flee from the big-city hustle. Life magazine even did an article on it.
4- The good times kept on rolling. In the early ‘50s, a group of blue-collar men re-floated a sunken barge they acquired for $1.00 and started the Miami Springs Power Boat Club. To this day, the retreat is one of the best preserved. After the Vietnam War, the club was known to welcome disabled veterans for afternoons of fun and fishing. Boy Scout groups still frequently visit.
5- During its heyday in the 1960s, a total of 27 shacks crowded the sandy bay. At the Bikini Club, bar seats were occupied by playboys, politicians and prominent characters, and free drinks flowed for the females flaunting it all in two piece swimwear. Soon after being raided for lacking a liquor license, its first demise came from Hurricane Betsy, Rebuilt to less fanfare, its final and quite literal downfall was the result of a fire and second hurricane.
6- In 1985, the bottom land underneath the remaining homes was incorporated into the Biscayne National Park. When the leases expired, the plan was to remove the remaining houses. Filled with a past as colorful as its facades, a long fight ensued. Residents rallied to Save Old Stiltsville (SOS) and preserve the pastel paradise as a historical landmark.
And Then There Were Six!
7- The one unwelcome guest and biggest reveler of all that just won't go away has been Mother Nature. Leaving the fairytale-like village defenseless, over the last century hurricanes and fires have destroyed 21 of the water-enriched wooden houses washing their tales of debauchery away. When Andrew’s Category 5 wrath blew through in August of 1992, it dropped the count to seven. And three years back in 2021, a horrific fire took down the LeShaw House. Currently, six shacks remain to carry on the legacy!
8- A non-profit called Stiltsville Trust was established in 2003 to protect and rehabilitate the remaining structures and support educational services showcasing its richness. It even served as inspiration for the downtown waterfront’s Perez Art Museum designed by world class architects Herzog & Meuron.
9- If by richness they mean noir nostalgia and entertainment action, the bungalows also appeared in "Bad Boys II", as well as, made cameos in Grand Theft Auto Vice City and PSP Miami Vice video games.
10- Looking to visit? Today, various historic boat tours make trips out to Stiltsville. Option two is to do a Florida Powerboat Club Poker Run down to the Keys… you’ll blast past it, faster than Crockett and Tubbs!
‘Tis the season of boat shows is upon us, coming next, we move up one county from Dade to Broward for the 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show aka FLIBS. First and foremost, on RDP radar, will be Nor-Tech’s 4000 Roadster Supercat sporting quad Mercury Racing 500-hp outboard engines.
And from its phenomenal display of center console inventory on hand, standouts we’re psyched to check out include Axopar’s first-ever 29 CCX; Formula’s CCF 457 (big sister to its 387 model); the Deep Impact 499 Sport; and the latest rendition of the Mystic 5200 with its new interior layout.
Return to Part One on the 38 Scarab KVs
https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/articles/do-you-really-know-your-“miami-vice-tv-show”-38-scarab-kvs.1220/
Return to Part Two about Glass Dave's painting tales.
https://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/articles/painting-the-38-scarab-“miami-vice-edition”-restos-how-many-colors-and-guns-did-glass-dave-use.1221/
